Global Alliance for the Prevention of Obesity and Related Chronic Disease

An alliance for the prevention of obesity, particularly in children, was established between five nongovernmental organizations concerned with chronic diseases and formally linked to the WHO. The Alliance is sustained through the voluntary efforts of its NGO partners and national and regional NGO networks:

• The International Association for the Study of Obesity
• The International Diabetes Federation
• The International Pediatric Association
• The International Union of Nutritional Sciences
• The World Heart Federation

Read the press release announcing the formation of the Global Alliance: http://www.preventionalliance.net/media.htm

The Global Alliance aims to:

• Provide coordinated NGO actions to help implement the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health
• Encourage wider stakeholders to cooperate in unified actions and responses      
• Develop best-practice prevention models, focusing on the prevention of childhood obesity as an essential first step towards preventing chronic diseases

If you wish to know more about obesity as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, visit our section on cardiovascular health/risk factors.

Please click below to learn more about the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health.

• Global strategy
• WHO Executive Board
• World Health Assembly
• European Charter on counteracting obesity

World Heart Federation involvement in the Global Alliance

The Global Alliance has selected pilot countries in which the Alliance and its regional policy groups support the formation of national councils to develop policies aimed at achieving changes in the food and physical activity environments. The Global Alliance will establish the media and public information resources needed to support these policies.

Exploratory meetings have already been undertaken in Malaysia, Singapore, Brazil and Thailand. The goal is to investigate potential collaboration between the Global Alliance and local NGOs and to meet with ministries of health to explore their prevention strategies. The outcome of these meetings varies, from the request for support to establish a national prevention group, to an evaluation request of the approaches used and achievements reached. The World Heart Federation participates actively in this alliance.

To learn more about the Global Alliance current activities, please visit: www.preventionalliance.net